Top 10 area art exhibitions of 2012

Dec. 28, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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"Las dos Fridas (The Two Fridas)," a 1939 oil on canvas by Frida Kahlo. This painting was view at the L.A. County Museum of Art, Jan. 29-May 6, part of "In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States." COURTESY OF MUSEO DE ARTE MODERNO, MEXICO CITY

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Richard Diebenkorn's 1969 oil on canvas, "Ocean Park #24," was part of "Richard Diebenkorn: The Ocean Park Series" at the Orange County Museum of Art, Feb. 26-May 27. IMAGE COURTESY OF YALE UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY

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Magdalena Fernandez's "2iPM009" is a 2009 video installation with sound, lasting one minute, fifty seconds. The sound effects and corporal percussion are courtesy of Perpetuum Jazzile. This installation was at the Museum of Latin American Art from Feb. 25-May 27, 2012. COURTESY OF MOLAA

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Victor Hugo Zayas' "Gun Sculpture 6" is from the Gun Sculpture Series, 2011. It's made of welded gun remnants, various sizes, and it was on view at the Laguna Art Museum, Feb. 26-April 29, part of "Victor Hugo Zayas: Mi Obra." PHOTO BY MARIO DE LOPEZ

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"Reclining Girl (Juliet) and Two Studies of Hands," a 1886-87 drawing by Gustav Klimt made of black chalk, graphite and stumped, heightened with white. This work was on view at the J. Paul Getty Museum, July 3-Sept. 23, part of "Gustav Klimt: The Magic of Line." IMAGE COURTESY OF ALBERTINA MUSEUM, VIENNA

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Pictured is a 2009 installation by Slanguage titled "Generation O: A National Convening for Teens in the Arts." The mixed-media installation was done at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. Slanguage's most recent project is at LAX ART, part of the "Made in L.A. 2012" biennial, June 2-Sept. 2. IMAGE COURTESY OF THE HAMMER MUSEUM AND SLANGUAGE

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"Balls Congo," a 2003 sculpture made of fired and painted clay by Ken Price. On view at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, part of "Ken Price Sculpture: A Retrospective," Sept. 16-Jan. 6, 2013. PHOTO BY FREDRIK NILSEN

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"Neopolitan," a 2012 work by Lana Shuttleworth. It's made of safety cones and stage flooring on panel. It was on view at the Huntington Beach Art Center Sept. 22-Dec. 15, part of "The Cylinder, the Sphere, the Cone." COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND GEORGE BILLIS GALLERY

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"Ecce Homo," a 1605 oil on canvas by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. On view at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Nov. 11-Feb. 10, 2013, part of "Bodies and Shadows: Caravaggio and His Legacy." MUSEI DI STRADA NUOVA, PALAZZO BIANCO, GENOA, ITALY

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Salvatore Scarpitta's "Sun Dial For Racing" (1962) is made of resin, canvas, aluminum paper and flex tubing. It's in the collection of the Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and it's on view at MOCA Los Angeles through Jan. 14, part of "Destroy the Picture: Painting the Void, 1949-1962." &#169; ESTATE OF SALVATORE SCARPITTA

"Las dos Fridas (The Two Fridas)," a 1939 oil on canvas by Frida Kahlo. This painting was view at the L.A. County Museum of Art, Jan. 29-May 6, part of "In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States."COURTESY OF MUSEO DE ARTE MODERNO, MEXICO CITY

In 2011, we had the 800-pound gorilla – "Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980" – to deal with.

In 2012, there was no such beast. But some museums were still driven by the intense focus on Los Angeles and Southern California artists, continuing with retrospectives on individual "PST" artists, or examining artistic production in the region during the decades that followed 1980.

Nonetheless, many other museums and art institutions branched out from Southern California and offered presentations of international artists, scope and resonance. The results were eclectic, boundary-pushing and refreshing, after all that focus on the City of Angels.

In chronological order, here are my picks for the best art exhibitions in Southern California in 2012. Dates indicate if they are still on view.

"In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States" at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Jan. 29-May 6): This exhibit featured mind-bending surrealist works by Frida Kahlo, Louise Bourgeois, Helen Lundeberg, Remedios Varo, Leonora Carrington, Lola Alvarez Bravo and Dorothea Tanning. The presentation was excellent, with gray walls running at angles and taut ropes connecting walls and the ceiling, creating a cobweblike effect. There were many unknowns and surprises revealed here.

"Magdalena Fernández: 2iPM009" at the Museum of Latin American Art (Feb. 25-May 27): Inspired by Piet Mondrian, Kasimir Malevich, Sol LeWitt and Latin American artist Jesús Soto, Venezuelan artist Fernández created a number of video installations that were cutting-edge, profound and, unlike a lot of video art, enjoyable to watch. Her "2iPM009" simulated a rainstorm, with the performance choir Perpetuum Jazzile creating all the noise with their hands and feet. Though this was a relatively small exhibit, it signaled Fernández as an artist of the 21st century to watch.

"Richard Diebenkorn: The Ocean Park Series" at the Orange County Museum of Art (Feb. 26-May 27): This was a superb collection of large canvases created between 1967 and 1988 in Diebenkorn's studio in the Ocean Park neighborhood of Santa Monica. The geometric and architectural works feature layers of paint over paint, signs of addition and subtraction, and traces of previous images and ideas. A tour de force for OCMA and curator Sarah Bancroft.

"Victor Hugo Zayas: Mi Obra" at Laguna Art Museum (Feb. 26-April 29): Zayas, a Mexican-raised, Los Angeles-based artist uses guns – rifles, revolvers and semi-automatic weapons – and transforms them into sculptures, thanks to the LAPD's gun buy-back program. For this show, he also created 21 oil paintings, thick with impasto. It was a sensual feast that made viewers think, feel, and even smell (the oil paint).

"Gustav Klimt: The Magic of Line" at the Getty Center (July 3-Sept. 23): This was an intimate look at an under-recognized side of Klimt, who otherwise has become one of the superstars of modern art history. The drawings included studies for "Philosophy" (1900-07), "Medicine" (1901-07) and "Jurisprudence" (1903-07) – among the most important and misunderstood works in the Viennese artist's career. The Getty also re-created Klimt's "Beethoven Frieze" (1901-02) in the Secession Building, which continues to be a top draw in Austria's capital city.

"Made in L.A. 2012" at the Hammer Museum, LAX Art, and Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery (June 2-Sept. 2): While its focus was on Los Angeles-based artists, "Made in L.A." did extend to Orange County artists, art schools and beyond. In fact, the sheer diversity of artists in this biennial was impressive. Though the "American Idol"-style contest to pick the best artist of 'em all was controversial, this exhibition did showcase a great deal of established and emerging talent. The sheer amount of new installations, videos, sculptures, performances and paintings was mind-boggling and certainly nothing to sneeze at.

"Ken Price Sculpture: A Retrospective" at LACMA (Sept. 16-Jan. 6, 2013): One of the key figures of "Pacific Standard Time," Price achieved amazing forms and color combinations in clay during his 50-plus-year career. This comprehensive exhibit of sculptures by Price, still on view at LACMA, offers heaping samples of Price's artistic influences, humor and spiritual interests. The retrospective, installed on the west side of LACMA's Resnick Pavilion, was designed by friend and architect Frank O. Gehry, who took a pristine, clean and meditative approach to the show.

"The Cylinder, the Sphere, the Cone" at the Huntington Beach Art Center (Sept. 22-Dec. 15): This group show was former curator Darlene DeAngelo's swan song. Because of city cutbacks, she resigned from the center on Sept. 28. Works by Pat Warner, Gary Simpson and Lana Shuttleworth reflected the themes of cylinder, sphere and cone, respectively, and also provided an environmental and global message. Shuttleworth's use of traffic cones in her work was simply amazing, and Simpson – who collected soil samples from 193 countries – proved that persistence pays. "Cylinder" was a beautiful show, one of the finest of the year.

"Bodies and Shadows: Caravaggio and His Legacy" at LACMA (Nov. 11-Feb. 10, 2013): Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was a gifted painter, but he was also a criminal and a killer. This exhibition, still on view in the Resnick Pavilion, brings together eight awe-inspiring Caravaggios – the first time that's happened in the Golden State. About 50 works by artists influenced by the Italian master – the "Caravaggisti" – demonstrate his profound effect on other European painters. "Ecce Homo" (circa 1605) and "The Toothpuller" (c. 1625-1630) by Caravaggio are must-sees.

"Destroy the Picture: Painting the Void, 1949-1962" at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (Oct. 6-Jan. 14): While we're on the subject of swan songs, this exhibition, still on view, is MOCA chief curator Paul Schimmel's final effort. He was unceremoniously let go from the museum in June after 22 years at the helm of an ambitious and internationally respected art program. "Destroy the Picture" examines the period after World War II, when artists from Japan, Europe and the United States ripped, cut, burned or affixed objects to the traditionally two-dimensional canvas, forcing it into three dimensions. The process was destruction as a mode of creation, and the void as an opportunity for creativity. As far as art shows go, this one is challenging, educational and thought-provoking.

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